Review

Max and Igor have been churning out groove metal/thrash hybrids together since 1985. From Sepultra to Soulfly, to their duo venture that is the Cavalera Conspiracy, it is safe to say that the two are veterans on the metal scene and quite arguably legends of the genre. The structuring and chemistry they have developed is of the kind that can only be achieved through years of experience together. And the years they most definitely have.

If there is anything good to say about “Blunt Force Trauma”, it is just that - it’s structure. The mixing and overall sound is flawless, Igor’s drums blend in with Max’s brutal riffs in an elegant and mathematical precision, the latter’s screams and unrelenting, vein-popping vocals are the best that they have ever been. Max seemed to develop his style slightly in that his voice often follows the same pitches and tones of his riffs. However, by far the most-welcome development is Marc Rizzo's departure from his simplistic "riff" solos that really made "Inflikted" generic as well. This time around however, Rizzo adds shredding solos and the hammering mayhem that wasn’t present on the band’s freshman album; more at home with what the Cavalera brothers are accustomed to. This significant difference is immediately recognizable on the first (and my favorite) track, “Warlord”. Unfortunately, this is where the pleasantries stop…

The Cavalera's really don't present anything new here. Max’s lyrics are monotonous and over-played, all focusing ultimately on the subjects of violence and death. Even when sending this very archaic message, Max makes no attempt to do so in a clever or indirect fashion. He is "blunt" and very straightforward, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but definitely worthy of note. Igor does not showcase his true talents as a drummer, instead sticking to the double bass / single snare / 4th measure drum roll formula that he boringly pushed through on the “Inflikted” album. As with most metal bands, the bass guitar is virtually nonexistent, though it is always a minus if there is not at least one notable bass highlight.

The songs themselves are monotonous as well. Each seems to try and go for the same “anthem-type” sound, with Max howling the chorus and the rest of the band (or Max himself) over lapping the same words. Each is also pretty generic as far as content and lyrics, they could all easily be miscellaneous or bonus tracks on any of the 19+ albums the brothers have worked on. Although they do go into small detail of historical figures (“Rasputin” & “Genghis Khan”), the others’ subject matter are as simple as their titles. (“Warlord”, “I Speak Hate”, “Torture”, “Thrasher”, “Target”, etc.) One could also argue that this short (34:05) record is one extended song, broken into 11 pieces. But don’t get me wrong; “Blunt Force Trauma” is not bad, so much as it suffers from repetitiveness and repetition.

All in all, this is a good listen. Just don’t expect to clamor about it with your friends for more than a few days. You’ll mosh your face-off or leave someone, somewhere bleeding whilst listening to it, but your not going to do anything other than that. It serves its purpose, nothing more, nothing less…

Thanx my friend, I appreciate the support... Hopefully I'll have time to do this once or twice a week... I'm very open minded and willing to listen to anything. So please send me ideas of what to listen to. I'm aiming to review albums with none already posted, but I am willing to review anything... Thanx again Ipod.

^Review whatever you want, at least this isn't a tbt review. If you want recs, create a list with what you already like, and ask others to rec what they feel is similar. As for the reviewing... the mods, staffers, and contribs ussually cover a fair bit of ground. But there should be a few albums/couple of groups without reviews.

Thanx Merkin for pointing that out... lol You are 100% correct... I find it funny though that Rizz played completely different in terms of soloing, compared to their first album... I need to be more adamant in confirming my facts b4 posting... this has been a great learning experience lmao...

Thanx Merkin for pointing that out... lol You are 100% correct... I find it funny though that Rizz played completely different in terms of soloing, compared to their first album... I need to be more adamant in confirming my facts b4 posting... this has been a great learning experience lmao...

All good! The soloing is a standout on this album, i had been completely over shreddy/solo stuff but the leads here are awesome and fun! I went back and listened to Arise after this and the drumming is so... im not sure if worse is the right word but maybe understated on BFT.

i enjoyed killing inside, which is the only thing off here i've heard but im not surprised to hear this album gets repeteive. i wish the cavaleras would do something different with their new project, and not just cover old ground again.

Decent review, although there are some little things that can be improved upon.

What can I say about the Cavalera brothers that can be fit into a single paragraph? Well for starters

Cut this out, it adds nothing to the review.

If there is anything good to say about “Blunt Force Trauma”, it is just that… it’s structure.

Replace the dots with either a comma or a hyphen.

The mixing and overall sound is flawless; Igor’s drums blend in with Max’s brutal riffs in an elegant and mathematical precision, the latter’s screams and unrelenting, vein-popping vocals are the best that they have ever been.

Use a colon instead of a semicolon.

However, by far the most-welcome development is the addition of Marc Rizzo at lead guitar.

Rizzo also played on their debut, Duplantier filled in for bass, not the lead guitar

There’s really nothing new here from metal, especially from the Cavaleras

Reword to "The Cavaleras don't present anything new here".

Even when sending this very archaic message, Max makes no attempt to do so in a clever or indirect fashion. He is blunt and very straightforward

Well, the album IS called Blunt Force Trauma and is the product of Cavaleras, so what did you expect?

As with most metal bands, the bass guitar is virtually nonexistent, though it is always a minus if there not at least one bass highlight

if there is not at least one bass highlight.

Also, this review sounds (or should sound) much more like a 3 when you call the album's sound "flawless" and "true thrash fun". Basically, if you think this is by-the-books thrash at its finest and still give it only a 2.5, it makes you sound biased towards the genre.

I'll admit on this album I will be speaking more from my heart than my head. After the extinction in 1996, (the band I loved more than anything) the formation of classic Sepultura, followed with some enthusiasm the growth of Soulfly and disc to disc. Uunfortunately the complete degradation to near total void with the last album, A-lex, of what remains of pseudo Sepultura Andreas Kisser and Paulo Jr., enthusiastically received the return of brother Cavalera after twelve years without making contact and peace. The origin of these two musical sacred monsters of metal led to the band Cavalera Conspiracy.

Inflikted's first album was not bad, but it exceeded expectations, with Iggor practicing the minimal services and with Max to write good themes but far from which is able to disappoint among fans, so the expectation around the new Blunt Force Trauma would be too great and this time not defrauded. Iggor returned to munch on drums, Max wrote some of his best songs in the last 15 years and it is not unreasonable to find some influences within some topics that are of sacred monsters Beneath The Remains, Arise, and Chaos AD. Not being an absolute classic album as aforesaid, Blunt Force Trauma is especially celebrating the communion between two brothers who are part of our (Metallic) story with a superb return to form and ready to rock live around the world, highlighted yet again an excellent work for the soloist Marc Rizzo, certainly one of the great values ​​of the present and future with regards of learning to play guitar, this man simply washed away, the album is cohesive, good start to finish but I can not fail to highlight the meshes Warlord (what a great start), I speak Hate (with a chorus that penetrates the soul), Target (reminiscent Nailbomb) and Rasputin (quite epic), the Special Edition also includes extra excellent songs and a live dvd absolutely unmissable, which shows why Max and Iggor are today and despite all of our absolute legends in the grand metal world.